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A Meigs County man stepped over the line — literally — and received a dressing-down in federal
court in Columbus last week.

Michael R. Runyon, 26, was logging on private land near Wayne National Forest in Athens County
in 2011 when he began felling and hauling trees from the federal land, too. An anonymous caller
alerted the U.S. Forest Service, which verified that Runyon had cut down several trees in the
national forest.

An investigation found that Runyon had hauled the stolen trees right past the orange markers and
red-painted trees that marked the federal boundary. The owners of the private land advised that
they had given Runyon a survey map showing the boundaries and had even offered to walk the line
with him. He declined the offer, saying he knew the area, investigators said.

Runyon, of Syracuse in southern Ohio, pleaded guilty to stealing $1,140 worth of federal trees
and was sentenced to a day in prison, three years of supervised release and 100 hours of community
service, as well as being fined $500. He also must repay the forest service for the timber.

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Drivers on I-71 near Downtown last Tuesday were among the first to see what Sheriff Zach Scott
hopes will become a common sight on Franklin County roads during warmer weather: inmate work
crews.

Wearing fluorescent safety vests over black-and-white-striped jail uniforms, the inmates spent
the day picking up trash along the freeway.

Scott said his office struck a deal with the state to begin the crews, which will usually be
composed of six volunteer inmates.

Only inmates convicted of nonviolent misdemeanors may participate. They would be foolish to run
from a program that gets them outside jail bars for a few hours, Scott said, because an escape
charge would put them in felony territory.

The program is expected to run through November.

• • •

A man who was sentenced last year to 28 years in prison for raping a former co-worker at her
Westerville home wanted his conviction overturned, in part because of pretrial publicity in
The Dispatch.

The Franklin County Court of Appeals rejected Rickey Allen Dye’s appeal last week, saying the
judge properly instructed jurors to disregard media reports about the case.

During jury selection, Dye’s attorney asked Common Pleas Judge Richard A. Frye to poll potential
jurors to see whether they had read a
Dispatch story that disclosed Dye’s previous convictions for kidnapping and robbery. Frye
refused, instead admonishing jurors not to let media reports “affect anything about your decision
in this case.”

The three-judge appeals panel found that Frye “acted reasonably” in handling the matter.

Dye, 51, forced his way into the home of the 64-year-old woman, whom he blamed for getting him
fired, and raped her on Feb. 2, 2012, leaving her tied to her bed.